Bad "Bad Acting": Half the cast involved in the Zany Scheme of Brock impersonating the Phantom to fool Mrs. Grim. Brock and Timmy do okay, May is a little overdramatic but passable, but Ash, Max, and Mr. Grim sound completely wooden.
Body Double: In order to convince Mrs. Grim that Timmy isn't the Phantom, Brock dons the Phantom costume and appears before Mrs. Grim while Timmy is also present out-of-costume. Sadly, Team Rocket soon ruins the ruse.
Deus Exit Machina: Timmy, as the Phantom, challenges and defeats Drew and his Roselia, leaving the latter too injured to participate in the contest the following day. Since Drew currently doesn't have any other Pokémon besides Roselia, this means he can't enter, thus ensuring that May won't have to worry about competing against him.
Education Mama: Timmy's mother, Mrs. Grim, refuses to allow him to become a Pokémon coordinator, and instead insists that he spend his time studying so he can take over her company someday.
Failed a Spot Check: Possibly subverted. Despite Timmy's mother apparently having seen Brock's face in the Phantom costume, and him conspicuously not being present with the rest of his friends after she met them all earlier, they do seemingly manage to pull off their scheme and convince her Timmy isn't the Phantom; but though she laughs off the idea of the Phantom being Timmy, it's implied she's not entirely fooled and is saying that to convince herself.
Failed Attempt at Drama: After the twerps send Team Rocket blasting off, Brock, despite having seemingly been exposed as the fake Phantom, still tries to save face and dramatically run away while still pretending to be the Phantom, but stumbles a couple of times and says "Ow!" in the process.
Fantasy-Forbidding Mother / My Beloved Smother: Timmy's overbearing and temperamental mother won't let Timmy train Pokémon or even bring them in the house, despite knowing how much he loves them, due to her own dislike of them, and insists that he study business instead. It's implied (and later confirmed in the next episode) that her negative feelings towards Pokémon are the result of a Freudian Excuse.
Made of Iron: Jessie has Seviper use Wrap on "the Phantom" (actually Brock pretending to be him) to keep him from using his hands to hold his mask on while James tries to pull the mask off with a fishing hook. Brock, despite having the life squeezed out of him, manages to pull back on the hook with just his head to keep the mask from flying off. It's lampshaded by Jessie wondering aloud if he glued the mask on his face.
Morton's Fork: If the twerps do nothing while Team Rocket attempts to unmask "the Phantom", the scheme will be ruined; however, Ash realizes that he can't have Pikachu attack them with a Thunderbolt because it might hit Brock too.
Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Downplayed. While Brock-as-the-Phantom is being restrained by Seviper, James has Cacnea attack him as well, and May promptly counters it by having Skitty use Blizzard. It is necessary since Cacnea would've not only knocked Brock's mask off, but probably hurt him as well; unfortunately, while the Blizzard does work and blows away Seviper and Cacnea, it also blows Brock off the balcony, and he lands right in front of Mrs. Grim with his face exposed.
Saying Too Much: Team Rocket showing up just as the twerps were succeeding in tricking Mrs. Grim is lampshaded by May—"And just when our little scheme was working so well!"—within earshot of Mrs. Grim, causing her to ask what May means while the latter covers her mouth.
The Worf Effect: Drew's Roselia is defeated by the Phantom's Dusclops in the Cold Open, which our heroes learn about soon after, demonstrating that the Phantom will be a difficult opponent for May in the upcoming contest.
Zany Scheme: Our heroes, upon learning about Timmy's predicament of wanting to participate in the contest as the Phantom, but knowing that his mom would not allow him to enter if she knew about it and already suspects him of being the Phantom, comes up with one of these to throw her off: as Mrs. Grim arrives home, May practices for the contest with Skitty, only for Brock, wearing Timmy's Phantom costume, to appear and challenge May to battle him at the same time that Timmy comes outside to see what's going on, in order to convince her that Timmy isn't the Phantom. Unfortunately for them, once Team Rocket arrives, things quickly go awry.
